The City V. The Drive-In (Part 2)

While the sky opened up and the Sun began to set I went on a search for a movie attendant. Most vehicles present had an external car antenna, mine is internal. Which is nice for most things, not so much for the Drive-In. I sense trouble a brewin’. I walked by cars loaded with colorful characters of all walks of life. On a side note, who brings their giant monster dogs to a movie? The answer, approximately 60% of those in pickup trucks, and 90% of the fellas in cut off t-shirts with handlebar mustaches.

Okay back on topic. I was able to find a yellow vested attendant and asked for assistance in setting up my car for the movie. While friendly, and cordial – I eagerly awaited my long haired friend to explain the technical process necessary to connect my internal antenna. Quickly he handed me a piece of electrical tape, and eloquently explained, “Here’s what you do, you take the wire from the box next to your car, and you find the change in pattern on the back of your windshield and you tape the wire to that.” I stood dumbfounded for a moment, before I took my chunk of black electrical tape and quickly shuffled back towards my car.

As the Sun finally set and the movie began we hastily tuned our stereo to the correct AM frequency. The hissing and popping of the stereos provided a sense of instant disappointment. And with a movie as complex as Inception, not being able to clearly here the dialogue proved to be a problem. I glanced back and made sure the tape was holding, sure enough it was. There is nothing quite like enjoying a fine film with the sound of Sweet Home Alabama cutting in and out. Sigh.

An hour into the movie, as I stared with great intent, trying to decipher what was audio from the movie and what was wretched feedback, it went to pure fuzz. I glance back, our taped wire is gone. Insert foul language here. I instinctively jump out of the vehicle and rush to the other side of the car. I grab the frayed antenna wire and try and reapply the tape, no good, it is ruined. With lightning quick speed and cat like reflexes (a bit over-dramatic I know) I jump in the back seat and try and pile jackets, blankets, anything to the back windshield to rest the wire on. Finally the stack works perfectly, and we have better audio than ever before. I get back to the front seat and I am finally able to enjoy the movie.

Progressively my best friend returns, feedback. Of course it creeps up as the movie reaches it’s climax. Frustrated, irritated, and generally annoyed – I climb to the back seat and hold onto the sharp edges of the wire as it is the only way I can get the audio to an acceptable level. In the process of doing so I accidentally crack the back of my passenger seat. Lovely. So we sit there, with me holding a wire in the back of my car as the movie draws to an end.

One movie down, one to g- nope. I am done. There is no way humanly possible that I could stomach a Twilight movie in this state of mind combined with the horrible audio quality. I climb back to the front seat, fasten my seat-belt and booked it. While I highly recommend Inception, I also recommend seeing it in a location where you can hear the movie properly. While I found the venue charming upon pulling up, there are far too many negatives if you actually want to pay attention to the film.

To sum it all up, I no longer question why the Drive-In is dead.

The Voice of a City!

Alright citizens, I have shared my experience with the Drive-In. Have any of you had a chance to visit one? We would love to hear about it! Feel free to post in the comments below this post, or on our Facebook page!

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